Budget hotel group easyHotel - launched by the man behind easyJet - looks set to bring its first venture to Liverpool.

The company, which specialises in city centre locations, has applied for planning permission to create a 77-room hotel above Castle Street restaurant Salt House Bacaro.

Those proposals look set to get the go ahead after being recommended for approval by planning chiefs ahead of a town hall meeting next week.

The four upper floors of the former Equity and Law Building, acquired by easyHotel in April, are currently vacant office space that planners believe could easily be converted into a hotel.

The cost of purchasing the building and creating a hotel is expected to be £3m in total, with bosses hoping rooms will be ready from spring 2016.

Salt House Bacaro will be unaffected by the project.

After easyHotel secured the site, chief executive Simon Champion, said: “This acquisition in the centre of Liverpool is fully in line with our strategy to expand our owned hotel portfolio into targeted major UK cities. It provides us with the opportunity to create a centrally located hotel for leisure and business customers looking for good quality accommodation at an affordable price.

“Liverpool has substantial inbound tourism, with over half a million visitors per annum, aided by recent inward investment and one of the UK’s busiest airports. This combined with domestic demand means it is an attractive location for an easyHotel.”

Described as a “super-budget” hotel, the firm’s website explains: “easyHotel operate like no other hotel group - and what we do is very simple. We offer you, the guest, the very best prices, and in return all we ask is for you to sacrifice a bit of luxury space.”

The company has hotels across Europe, but Castle Street will be its first venture in England outside of London. The cheapest rooms currently advertised on its website start from £19 per night in Croydon and Glasgow.

Recommending the project for approval, a document to go before Liverpool’s planning committee next week said: “The conversion to hotel use would involve little change to the exterior of the building, the bulk of the work being internal alterations.

“The proposed hotel would be aimed at the budget market providing modest sized rooms and minimal associated facilities - it would not include restaurant or bar facilities. The layout of the rooms works well within the building’s shell.”

Earlier this year budget hotel Tune opened in the historic Queen Builiding on Castle Street, which is proving attractive to investors.

Argentinian steakhouse CAU and wine cafe Veeno have also opened on the street this year, while Viva Brazil is set to reopen following a refurbishment. A pizza restaurant is planned for the vacant former Starbucks opposite the town hall, while a bar called Neighbourhood is expected to open in What’s at 62.